


All Veth’s Fault

by StrawberryFields (Coraleeveritas)



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: All Human, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Meet-Cute, first time writing for this fandom, i don’t know what i’m doing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-06
Updated: 2020-10-06
Packaged: 2021-03-08 00:48:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,175
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26856976
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Coraleeveritas/pseuds/StrawberryFields
Summary: A Caleb/Jester meet cute at a modern day music festival
Relationships: Jester Lavorre/Caleb Widogast
Comments: 3
Kudos: 48





	All Veth’s Fault

**Author's Note:**

> It’s been six months since I’ve written a single word for any of my stories, and this morning I wrote this whole thing in one go. It’s un-betaed (sorry) and my first time writing for this ship or fandom so I don’t really know if modern things are really something that’s done, but I had fun writing it and hope I can write more in the future.
> 
> Thanks to my friend Sandwiches for the music festival prompt and the little push I needed to feel better about writing and posting again.
> 
> Anything you recognise doesn’t belong to me :)

Not for the first time in his life, Caleb Widogast was feeling more than a little anxious in an unexpected social situation. If he hadn’t been so single minded since he’d arrived in town, maybe the Brennatos wouldn’t have invited him to this music festival out of pity. And then he wouldn’t have lost them by one of the merchandise stands. And then perhaps he could have avoided following the unfortunate series of events that had led him to being locked in a larger than average portaloo with an exceptionally pretty girl, who was currently covered in blue sparkly paint and wearing a headband of curling horns. This really was turning into one of the worst days of his life.

Despite the awkwardness of the situation, she held out her hand after trying the handle for the third time. “Hi, I’m Jester.”

His own hands stayed in his pockets, wary and unsure. “Hi. I’m C-Caleb.”

”Nice to meet you, Cay-leb,” she grinned in reply. Cocking her head towards the door, the girl named Jester started yelling to the outside. “How much longer do you think we’ll be stuck in here?”

”Three, no four minutes,” came the gruff reply. 

”Wooooo!”

Caleb couldn’t help but smile just a little, on the inside, the strange girl’s enthusiasm was a sight to be seen and he hadn’t seen much of the world for a while now. His research had seen him bouncing between the university libraries and his tiny postgrad flat for so long that the weeks had turned into months, barely noticing whether it was day or night by the time he got home. It was only because of his next door neighbour that he even remembered to eat. Veth Brennato, a tiny, colourfully adorned, family orientated woman in her mid forties, had somewhat taken him under her wing since he’d arrived and there was always a casserole or pasta bake or pie waiting by his door every time he returned from one of his scholarly adventures. He now even had a kitten as a roommate, Veth offering him the pick of the spotted tabby litter that her husband was fostering. So far, Frumpkin had made him no more sociable but he had reduced Caleb’s general loneliness to a far more manageable level. It was nice to feel wanted again even if it was by a cat. 

”The Traveller is on the big stage in ten minutes,” Jester was explaining as the cubicle began to move with the effort to release them, her accent bringing to mind music all by itself. “I’m their biggest fan.” She grinned again, pointing to her ample chest where The Traveller’s band emblem was adorned along with a handful of lollipop and unicorn pins. 

”Today is a really big deal. They hardly ever play this far out and Mama bought me the ticket for my birthday. It was going to be so cool-“, she paused, barely giving Caleb time to nod carefully before rushing into another thought. “Not that you aren’t nice, Cay-leb, it’s just a bit stinky in here. And my friends are waiting for me.”

Caleb went to brush off her kindness but suddenly thought better of it. His eyes stayed locked on the ground, however, just in case Jester accidentally thrust her chest in his direction again. The lights in the cubicle would only highlight how closely his blushing cheeks always matched his red hair. “Happy Birthday?”

”Thank you. I was going to wear a birthday pin as well but I couldn’t find one with the right numbers. Twenty-three is such an awkward age.”

”It won’t be more than another couple of minutes, kids,” the gruff voice broke into their conversation once more now that they had stopped moving. “Just hang on in there.”

He could feel Jester looking him up and down, taking in his worn but perfectly acceptable shirt and jeans, clearly searching for a new topic. “When you aren’t causing trouble at music festivals, what do you do, Cay-leb?”

”Nothing too exciting,” he immediately played down his most research into Middle Ages magicians and their impact on the literature of the Victorian age. 

”Really? That depends on what I think exciting is. A teacher might think being an artist was exciting, an artist might think being a meteorologist was exciting. A poet might-“

”Are you a teacher?”

”No,” she replied. “I was just trying to make a point. Different people have different ideas of exciting.”

Caleb finally met her gaze. “I’m a PhD student.”

”Oh, oh! I know PhD students! I work at the Chateau Cafe in Nicodranas Square. That’s by the big university library, right? We certainly get a lot of students coming in for coffee and pastries every morning.”

Caleb nodded, finding it easier to talk to her the more time went on. “Ja. I walk past it most days but I...em, I’ve never been in. It always seems busy. Which is good for business, I guess.”

”Our bear claws are the best in the city.” Jester leaned in a little, dropping her voice down to a conspiratorial whisper. “Things usually quieten down around 10.30, if you want, I can set aside a table for you in the back so you can work somewhere a bit warmer than that drafty library.”

He didn’t get a chance to answer, for as soon as the suggestion left her mouth, the door sprang open and Jester was away, waving as she bounced over to her friends, their clothes and intricate face paintings giving the impression of a rainbow. “Bye, Cay-leb. I’ll save you a bear claw.”

He meant to say thank you, or tell her it had been nice meeting her, despite the weird, stinky, circumstances but Caleb couldn’t find the right words before her sparkly blue face had disappeared into the crowd.

******** 

”There you are!” Veth pounced on him from out of nowhere as he turned into the food truck area. “You weren’t answering your phone and I had begun to think you’d fallen down a hole or something.”

”Nein,” Caleb shook his head. “I was just...making a new friend. I think.”

”Finally!” Veth exclaimed. “You’re too young and have been here too long to not know anyone other than me.”

He really didn’t mind her looking out for him, even if he didn’t say it in so many words. “You do keep reminding me about that.”

”And I will until I get to meet some of your new friends. There’s enough room around my dining table for a few more,” she waited for him to protest, although when he didn’t, Veth went on. “Anyway we should get over to the big stage if we want to see something special. Did you know The Traveller rarely plays something this rural?”

”You know, someone told me that just a few minutes ago.”

Maybe getting stuck in a larger than average portaloo with an exceptionally pretty girl at a music festival wouldn’t turn out to be one of the worst days of his life after all.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!


End file.
